Being energy efficient is a great thing for so many reasons, but these are among the best.

Being energy efficient is a great thing that can actually be more helpful than you might think. In addition to yourself, you are also helping your family, the environment, and your community! It requires some extra planning when building your own home. But, the benefits cannot be understated. Making sure your home is energy efficient could end up being one of the best decisions that you’ll ever make for yourself and others!

First of all, making your home energy efficient means there is a lot less wasted energy in your house. In other words, that means you are not paying for energy going through your home that nobody wanted or asked for! There are so many things you can do to reduce your cost of living by being energy efficient. Why not wash those clothes in cold water? Why not use light bulbs that only use as much energy as they need to create light? Why not buy a refrigerator that efficiently regulates its temperature, saving you money on keeping your food fresh? There aren’t many reasons not to, and making the changes could save you hundreds annually on energy bills.

Second of all, energy efficiency helps to make your community better! When homes are energy efficient, people have more money in their pockets. Therefore, it can help boost a community’s economy. Large-scale energy efficiency can help improve national security by allowing more and more homeowners to be less dependent on those who control the energy. Not to mention, the money and energy saved nationally can be allocated to other important areas.

Finally, your choice to be energy efficient can affect everyone around you by improving the environment and helping to improve overall quality of life. As we conserve natural resources, we deplete them from the Earth much slower and stop putting much of them into our air. Furthermore, increased energy efficiency can make things like public transportation and private business more useful. This creates a chain reaction that generally makes everyone happier and allows us to live a higher quality life.

Need some laughs to complement an awesome experience in the Spokane, WA area? Check out Steve Martin and Martin Short performing at the INB Performing Arts Center tonight: http://www.inbpac.com/event.php?eventID=371. Want to move to beautiful Washington State? Visit True Built Home for help building your dream home! http://truebuilthome.com/.

At a certain point, going up in the air just makes more sense than spreading out. Build your own home with the help of True Built Home, experienced professional builders who can make you feel right at home. You can browse our multi-level home designs here: http://truebuilthome.com/home-plans/multi-level-homes/.

If you’re in the Tacoma area from October 7-9, don’t forget to come out to Oktoberfest Northwest! Come and experience Washington’s rich German Heritage. You’ll experience some of the best food, drink, and entertainment that the area has to offer!

When most people think Oktoberfest, they think about the fun activities for those of us 21 and older. Don’t worry, because Oktoberfest Northwest boasts some of the best German beer. But, did you know that the Fethalle main stage music and entertainment runs from noon until midnight? You also won’t want to miss the amazing food, wiener dog races, Stein Dash 5k, and the legendary Hammerschlagen® bar game. Think you can drive a nail into a cross section of wood the fastest? Prove it!

Speaking of amazing food, individuals who are able will not want to miss the VIP Dinner & Experience. Admission is $120 ($100 pre-sale), which gets you an authentic 3 course German dinner, a meet and greet with Oktoberfest Northwest host Manuela Horn, live polka music, a private bar, and much more!

If you’re bringing the whole family, don’t forget that kids 12 and under get in free all weekend, but aren’t allowed in after 7pm. But, before then, there are a whole host of activities for all ages! Bring the kids out to experience the root bier garten, a scavenger hunt, free pumpkin decorating, free face painting, an authentic May pole dance, arts & crafts projects with the Tacoma German Language School, kids Hammerschlagen®, corn hole toss, and Manuela Horn’s Kinderfest show on Sunday!

The festivities in 2016 take place from October 7 to October 9 in Washington’s largest Munich-style Festhalle Biergarten. You can get in for free on Friday, October 7 from 12-3. Admission is only $12 through the rest of the weekend, until Sunday when the price drops by half to $6.

As of July 1, 2016 all Washington State home builders are subject to new energy codes that have resulted in state-wide price increases. In a nutshell, builder receives credits when they use energy saving methods in the home construction process. In the past, the number of credits required for a medium dwelling unit (1501 – 5000 sf.) were 1.5 and could be met in a variety of methods. A hybrid hot water tank could get you 1.5 credits and it still can, but the state has moved the proverbial bar higher and now all builders have to get 3.5 credits for medium dwelling units. How we obtain those credits can be either good or bad for both builders and those desiring to build. How so? It’s imperative that you understand what you are building into your home and that the credits the builder is offering is economical for you, not just the builder. Adding these energy saving items is obviously good for you and the environment in the end. Will you have to purchase additional things for your home to make it comfortable? Let us explain.

Some builders are offering standard ductless units on all their homes to obtain 1.0 credit, and then obtaining the other 2.5 in a variety of means. Ductless units by-the-way were invented as demand for cheap A/C and heat were needed for older homes. It is minimally invasive because it literally is like a wall A/C unit that hung out of the window. They are in demand for retro-homes or remodels. Granted, for homes 1500 square feet and smaller, these units with one head for both heat and cooling may indeed be sufficient. We ourselves take this approach for all of our homes 1500 sf. and smaller. However, on a two story or a large rambler, if you want to get cooling and heat in all areas of the home, more heads are needed. Imagine while ordering your home from other builders and you are told that if you want sufficient cooling and heat in other areas of your 2,500 sf. home, you have to pay an additional $2-3-4k more! Why would the builder offer the home in such a way? Because it’s their least expensive means to obtain the credits needed. This will put the client in an awkward position if you want even heating and cooling in the whole house. How so? Because the builder will offer you an upgrade for extra heads for the ductless unit or offer the option/upgrade that True Built Home does standard-the furnace and heat pump! True Built Home has taken a completely different approach.

Ductless units have their place. However, on larger single-story homes and two-story homes, they make little sense. In this regard, True Built Home offers a high efficient electric furnace and heat pump system standard on all homes 1500 square feet and larger. This gives us 1.0 credit, just like a ductless unit, without the additional expense to the homeowner of adding more heads to sufficiently cool and heat the rest of the home. Let that sink in a bit. Because, when company personnel sit down to discuss these very things, some companies think, “how can we make more money”, while we always take the approach, “how can we add value to our homes”.

In the end, don’t be fooled by some who say that ductless are the “only” way to go. They indeed do have a purpose, but not when you have to pay more for some that could have simply been addressed the right way to begin with.

True Built Home – How we purpose to meet the new Washington Energy Codes

High efficient electric furnace package along with high efficient heat pump system

Low-flow Moen faucets-rated #1 JD Powers

R38 under the floor

LowE .28 windows

Heat pump (hybrid) electric water heater

*Where natural gas can be substituted, an additional up-charge will apply for additional venting and piping.